Inspirational Weekly Parsha Insights and anecdotes of Rabbi Schwartz and his never dull family as they acclimate and absorb into their new home in Karmiel Israel, having made Aliyah- August 2010

Karmiel

Our view of the Galile

Friday, May 18, 2012

Casually Pregnant- Bechukosai 2012

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 18th 2012 -Volume 2, Issue 28 –26th of Iyar 5772

41st Day of Omer

Parshat
Bechukosai

Casually Pregnant

It was during one of my wife's pregnancies and I had just
returned from Israel on a trip. She was at a rather early stage and so, as the
custom in our home, in order to avoid any Ayin Harah/Evil Eye we had not told
anyone before I had gone on my 10 day trip. However the good Almighty always
has alternate plans, and while I was away my wife became slightly ill (another
not so fun pregnancy custom in our house), required some help and the word
slowly got out. So there I was getting picked up from the airport when my
little son Yonah turns to me excitedly and says

“Hey, Daddy! Guess what? Mommy's pregnant!”

Biting back a smile and ignoring my friend’s who was
driving us little comment about "see what happens when you go away for 10
days", I turned to my son with as much surprise as I could muster up and
said "REEEAAALLY! Baruch Hashem!!" His response however touched my
heart and soul.

"I just knew it would happen, Daddy! It's because I've
been davening (praying) a lot and I sent a letter to Hashem and because you
must have davened a lot when you went to the Western Wall-The Kotel in Eretz
Yisrael to deliver it there."

I remember coming home smiling that night as I told my wife
how cute my son was and the wonderful innocence of youth. In doing so however I
caught myself. Is his statement and exuberance about the Hand of God and His
answering- to- prayers- capacity a product of my son's childhood naiveté? Or is
the lack of that emotion and faith an unfortunate testimony to his father's
adult Divine callousness to the incredible miracle that was growing inside of
my wife. Had I perhaps become so enwrapped in the natural expectations of "the
way of the world" and fallen guilty to the sin of not appreciating the
wonderful blessing I had been granted in response to my prayers.

This week’s Torah portion and the conclusion of the book of
Leviticus discusses the blessing and curses associated with the fulfillment and
non- fulfillment of the commandments. In the portion of the terrifying
punishments that Hashem spells out in spine-chilling graphic detail
(unfortunately most of which our history shows has been meted upon us
generation after generation) there is one repeated cause for all these
tzoris/troubles; one sin specifically that invokes a response from Hashem;
a response of terror and tragedy.

"And if you will be have casually with Me and
refuse to heed Me And I shall lay a further blow upon you seven ways like your
sins……"

"If despite these you will not be chastised toward Me
and you behave casually with Me then I will behave toward you with casualness
and I will strike you even I seven ways for your sins)"

"And if despite this you will not heed Me and you will
behave toward Me with casualness I will behave toward you with a fury of
casualness; I will chastise you , even I, seven ways for your
sins…."

"And you will confess your sins and your forefather's
sins for the treachery with which they betrayed Me, and also for having behaved
toward Me with casualness. I too will behave with them with casualness
and I will bring them into the land of their enemies –perhaps then their
unfeeling heart will be humbled and then they will gain appeasement for their
sin."

Thankfully this portion concludes with the ultimate promise
of redemption. With
Hashem "remembering" the covenant of our Forefathers and the
remembrance of the Land of Israel, to which
will be fully and undisputedly returned to when we finally achieve atonement
for our sin.

Perhaps one of the most difficult concepts for people to
come to terms with in understanding or coming to terms with about God-run world
is the untold tragedies that occur. Interestingly enough no one has that
problem or question when blessings and good things befall them. The book titled
"Why Do Good Things Happen to me?" has yet to be written and would
probably never get published. It seems there is almost an expectation in life
that the natural order of the world is that I deserve to have things going
good. Although if you ask the average person if they have committed sins, if
they have recognized regularly the Source of their blessing, if they truly feel
they can approach an Almighty with clean deserving hands, most I believe would
respond with an overall "Well I'm generally a good person"
type of answer, rather than address the specific merits of the questions posed.
An argument that would never hold its weight in any court when faced with a
specific charge, nor one that would entitle anyone to getting a foundation
grant, government assistance program, or even a job when asked for the merits
by which they may be specifically worthy. Particularly because “generally
good” is pretty subjective term.

Yet we feel that way. Why? Because we take God and goodness
for granted, it's just the way its "spozed" to be. The
greatest tragedy is that in doing so we lose out on the experience of the
Divine nature, interaction and love by which we receive all that we have and by
which we exist. We therefore more tragically lose out on fully appreciating the
Divine nature of the significance of wha twe must have been given the capacity
to accomplish. Imagine the wife who receives a beautiful diamond necklace from
her husband (one day… Rebbetzin… one day…J) yet assumes that it just got there on the dining room
table by itself. Imagine that tremendous potential for love that is lost.
Imagine the message and knowledge of the incredible sense of love and
appreciation her husband has for the value of their relationship that she could
have taken from this gift had she only realized it was from him. Imagine the
immense sadness of living a life not realizing how valuable and cherished you
truly are because you just assumed with casualness that it’s the natural way of
the world.

Hashem our ever loving Father in Heaven cares too much for
us to let us lead that type of life. So He does that which always seems to get
us recognizing and turning and begging for the return of His divine love and
blessing. He separates and gives us exactly the type of relationship we are
deserving of and have been behaving with, according to our lack of recognition,
in order that we learn and appreciate how significant his blessing and love is
in our lives.

We conclude this third book of the Torah Vayikra, the book
that discusses sacrifices and the process of getting and integrating our
closeness with our Creator with this powerful message. The Torah is teaching us
that we are in a relationship with God. Our blessing and our existence are all
not merely casual natural things that happen, rather they are a direct result
of the caring love and significance by which we are meant to relate to the
Divine and by which Hashem has a relationship with us. Perhaps even more
significant is when we are faced with tragedies and challenges. We should never
view them as products of the casual or circumstance. They are happening for a
reason. A Divine reason. For they are coming from a loving God that wants
nothing more than for His special children to turn to Him once again, whether
in prayer or in our deeds and awareness and relate and appreciate the
significance rather than the casualness of our lives.

Have an incredibly amazing Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

This week’s insights
is dedicated in honor of my dear Rebbetzin Aliza who’s birthday is this week!!
You are always my tremendous source of inspiration and the strength and the
center of all that I have that is good. Thank you for all you are and do and
for sharing life together with me. May Hashem continue to bless you and us with
many more years growing younger, closer and greater together and may we both
merit to continue to see all our dreams come true…

Museum of
Rishon Li’Tzion-THE CITY APTLY
NAMED RISHON LE’TZION WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL FARMING COMMUNITY STARTED IN
ISRAEL IN 1882- LONG BEFORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL. THE CITY
WAS A BLEND OF EASTERN EUROPEAN RELIGIOUS JEWS THAT CAME TO LIVE IN ISRAEL AND
WORK THE LAND, OLD YISHUV-NIKS THAT WERE MOVING OUT OF YERUSHALAYIM LOOKING TO
SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND WESTERN EUROPEAN JEWS FUNDED BY THE ALLIANCE’- KOL YISRALE
CHAVEIRIM THAT WAS DEDICATED TO SHOWING THAT JEWS COULD BE MORE THEN “BUSINESS
MIDDLE MEN” AND COULD CREATE FROM THE SANDS AND INFERTILE GROUND OF ISRAEL AND
FLOURISHING AGRICULTURAL WONDERLAND. WITH THE SUPPORT OF BARON ROTHSCHILD (AND
THE CHALLENGES THAT CAME WITH HIS HARSH DEMANDS) THE MIRACLE TOOK PLACE. THE
CITY GREW AND DEVELOPED AND IS TODAY THE FOURTH LARGEST IN ISRAEL. IN THE
MUSEUM OF RISHON ONE CAN VISIT THE OLD REFURBISHED PERIOD HOUSES ALONG WITH
MEETING MANY OF THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS (DRESSED AND SPEAKING AS THEY DID IN THAT
ERA) WHO ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THEIR STORIES. ONE CAN VISIT THE HOMES WHERE THE
HATIKVA WAS ESTABLISHED AND SET TO MUSIC, WHERE THE ISRAELI FLAG WAS FIRST
UNVEILED, THE OLD SHUL-WHICH IS STILL IN USE AND EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND WHAT
LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN LIFE FOR THOSE EARLIER PIONEERS WHO CAME WITH A DREAM OF
HOLINESS AND DEDICATION TO BUILD OUR LAND.

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About Me

Hi, thanks for popping in. I am a recent Oleh. My wife Aliza and children Shani, Yonah, Rivkah, Elka and Tully recently moved to Karmiel Israel from Seattle Washington where we used to have a little Shul in our home the West Seattle TLC (Torah Learning Center). I have been involved in Jewish educational outreach for over 15 years. Originally a Detroiter, we have been lucky enough to live in Midwood New York, Des Moines Iowa, Norfolk Virginia and Seattle. I'm just a down to earth guy who would rather talk in the front of the shul than the back so i became a Rabbi where that becomes your job. I love Jews,Stories, Israel, and chulent. Recently we opened up the Young Israel of Karmiel and look forward to greeting the many North American and Anglo Olim who will join us here in the beautiful Galil.
Please comment away I thrive on your input. Thanks!

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